Concordia College history

In 1893, Grose resigned and recently hired business professor Hans Aaker took his place.

The cornerstone on Founders Hall bears the initials E.L.S.L.S., short for Evangelische Lutherische Schullehrer Seminar, apparently the first name given to Concordia in 1894 by our German-speaking founders.

Aaker became mayor of Moorhead in 1900 and left two years later when that job compromised his dedication to the school.

Concordia opened its doors in 1905 as a four-year academy to meet regional needs for pastors and school teachers for the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.

No one knows for sure when Concordians first started playing organized sports, but they were believed to have adopted the Bulldog mascot in honor of Coach Walter Hellwege’s pet bulldog, who accompanied him to games in the 1920s.

Concordia began offering bachelor’s degrees in 1939, but in many states teachers were not required to have bachelor’s degrees for several more years.

Eleven years later, a female dormitory was built, named Fjelstad Hall, and in 1947, a male dormitory was built, later called Brown Hall.

On September 30, 1962, Lutherans from across Michigan gathered on the grounds of the former Earhart estate in Ann Arbor to install the cornerstone of a building that would soon become the centerpiece of a new college.

Doctor Paul J. Dovre took the presidency in 1975, and oversaw new college programs and articulated Concordia's Lutheran mission.

In 1978, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod authorized Concordia to become a four-year accredited college that would provide instruction in teacher education, nursing, medical assistant, social work, and engineering.

In a farsighted move in 1982, the LCMS purchased the former campus of the School Sisters of Notre Dame in Mequon, Wisconsin, and the college was moved 15 minutes north of its original site.

On August 27, 1989, the Board of Regents approved the move to university status, and Concordia University Wisconsin became the first university among the 10-member Concordia University System.

In 2012 Concordia opened a School of Law in Boise, Idaho, which offers a Juris Doctor Degree and an innovative 3+3 program which allows undergraduate students to earn both a bachelor’s degree and law degree in just six years.

In July 2013, a strategic partnership between CUAA and Concordia University Wisconsin became official.

In 2015, the university purchased a former law school building located just over two miles north of the main campus.